International Strategy

Columbia Sportswear said it's expanded its e-commerce operations by launching Columbia and Sorel branded sites in Canada and eight European countries. The new e-commerce sites in Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Germany, Italy, Austria, Belgium and The Netherlands — combined with existing sites in the United States, Korea and Japan — give the outdoor apparel and footwear brand 24 localized e-commerce operations in 12 countries.

Gap is growing its footprint in Latin America through franchising. The company will open its first stores in South America in Chile this month through a partnership with locally based merchant Komax. Gap will also introduce Gap and Banana Republic stores to Panama and Colombia in 2012.

American Apparel, the U.S. clothing retailer known for its controversial advertisements and founder, is bucking the trend in the U.K. and has reported positive sales growth despite the shrinking U.K. consumer's purse.

Tesco is capitalizing on the 45 percent surge in its online clothing business by expanding this service to international markets. The U.K. multichannel retailer will deliver its range of clothing to countries in Europe through Clothingattesco.com, to be relaunched this month.

Golfsmith has established a partnership with The MoreGolf Group, South Africa’s largest golf retailer, as part of a global strategy toward growth. At 78 stores, Golfsmith is the largest golf specialty retailer in the United States. It said it will reinvest the income generated from the just-announced partnership into its core U.S. business. In the past year, Golfsmith has formed new partnerships for its proprietary brands in Europe, Japan, Korea, Australia, New Zealand and now South Africa.

OneStopPlus.com announced its expansion in the Canadian marketplace with the launch of an exclusive shopping catalog and initial strategic TV advertising buy. The catalog offers an assortment of trendy plus-size fashion from proprietary brands, including Woman Within, Roaman's, Jessica London and Avenue, and the advertising buy seeks to target on-trend plus-size Canadian women in top networks.

British apparel retailer Jack Wills is looking to nearly double its store count in the United States, according to various reports in the U.K. media. The company, which specializes in preppy clothing for young men and women, currently operates 11 U.S. locations and has plans to add eight to 10 stores next year. It made its U.S. debut in 2010, in Massachusetts.

Swarovski partnered with SCVNGR to launch a treasure hunt across London on Sept. 24 to celebrate the London launch of 'Discover Your Light,' the company's "exciting move into cinema." This campaign marks the first time that SCVNGR has offered an event-based challenge outside of the U.S.

Value Retail, a company that owns nine outlet centers in Europe, is set to open a 600,000 square-foot outlet shopping center in Suzhou, China, 50 miles outside of Shanghai. 

Joe's Jeans announced that it's opened its second store in the Middle East at the 360 MALL in Safat, Kuwait. The 360 MALL is a world-class shopping destination and the globally acclaimed winner of Retail & Leisure International's Award for International Shopping Centre of the Year.